Now based in France, the Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra is one of his country's most successful authors. The film The Attack, based on Yasmina Khadra's book of the same name, was honoured as Best International Literary Adaptation at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. Regina Keil-Sagawe joined the novelist for an espressoMore

Edouard Lambelet's well-known German bookshop is located close to Tahrir Square in Cairo. The bookseller has lived through many conflicts in Egypt, but for the first time, he's now considering throwing in the towel. Holger Heimann reportsMore

﻿Current novels from Egypt tell about people's daily struggle for survival, about their suffering in the face of state violence and corruption, and about managing to get by with the help of tricks and humour. Egyptian literature is available in translation in various forms – from the spontaneous blog to the social novel. By Susanna SchandaMore

﻿Best-selling author and journalist Khaled Alkhamissi is one of the sharpest observers of Egyptian society. In his novels Taxi and Noah's Ark he foretold the fall of the Mubarak regime. Bettina Kolb spoke to him about a revolution that is far from overMore

﻿Until a few months ago, Rosa Yassin Hassan was filing daily reports on the war in Syria in her blog, "Diary of the Syrian Revolution". Her accounts detailed both the suffering of civilians and the brutal acts committed by both the regime and the opposition. Persecuted by the regime, she fled to Germany in the autumn of 2012. Laura Overmeyer spoke to herMore

Syrian author Nihad Sirees has written seven novels and several plays and TV dramas. After increasing pressure from the Syrian government, Sirees left Aleppo in early 2012. Marcia Lynx Qualey met him at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, just as he was leaving his exile in the US and moving to EgyptMore

The young Tunisian lawyer, dramatist and director, Meriam Bousselmi, was born in Tunis, where she still lives, in 1983. She's currently making a name for herself with sharp, critical works for the theatre, such as her latest production, "Sabra". She spoke to Suleman TaufiqMore

In his essay, the renowned Syrian writer and novelist Fawwaz Haddad criticises the cynical attitude of the international community toward the Syrian conflict and the dramatic decline of his homelandMore

By writing historical novels, Jurji Zaidan wanted to provide the common Arabic people with an accurate sense of their own history in an accessible, entertaining way. His novels were unavailable in English for nearly a century. But now, in the last two years, six English translations have appeared. Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

﻿Last year, the Cairo Book Fair was thrown into the shadows by the revolutionary events in Egypt, but this year the public is once more showing interest. As Asira El Ahl found out, the young generation is especially keen on the kinds of books which meet their interestsMore

﻿The Saudi writer and journalist Turki al-Hamad is one of the most distinguished and courageous intellectuals in his homeland. Religious authorities have already issued seven fatwas against him. For the past two-and-a-half weeks, the soon to be 60-year-old writer has been sitting in prison for sending highly controversial Twitter messages. By Fakhri SalehMore

Iraqi author Hadiya Hussein has been away from Iraq for more than a dozen years, yet her fiction is still filled with its concerns. Her 2004 novel "Beyond Love", recently published in English translation, is full of exile, separation, and love. Hussein talked with Marcia Lynx Qualey about home, memory, and how living outside the country affects her writingMore

﻿Lina al-Abed is a journalist and filmmaker who left her home in Damascus, Syria, to start a career in Beirut, Lebanon. In this interview with Irmgard Berner, she talks about women in the Arab film business and how the Syrian revolution has already in some ways liberated SyriansMore

﻿How have Syria's independent artists been addressing the escalating violence in their native country since the start of the uprising against the Assad regime? For the first time ever, the ifa-Galerie in Berlin is showing videos and short films by Syrian artists inspired by the revolution in an exhibition entitled "Bewegte Bilder" (Moving Images). By Charlotte BankMore

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Countless cultural assets have been destroyed by the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project in Berlin contributes to preserving their memory with an exhibition showing what has been lost — and what remains. By Christina Kufner